The present invention relates generally to digital television receivers and in particular to a method for selecting programs in television receivers that operate according to the digital television standard.
Current analog television systems transmit one program per channel. Selection from among the channels being broadcast at any given time is made by adjusting the tuner to tune to the frequency of the desired channel.
Some digital television systems exist which transmit multiple programs via a satellite link. These systems include an electronic program guide which maps each program number into a particular transponder signal, a particular channel being transmitted by the transponder and a particular program in the channel. Thus, the electronic program guide is required to tune to a program being carried by one of these digital satellite systems. Thus an electronic program guide must be generated at the head-end and decoded by the receiver in order to tune to a specific program.
The Digital Television Standard as described in publication DOC.A/53 entitled xe2x80x9cATSC Digital Television Standardxe2x80x9d published by Advanced Television Systems Committee, contemplates sending multiple programs in a single terrestrial broadcast channel or cable channel. Thus, each of several broadcasters who transmit signals in a given area may send a signal that contains a single high-definition program or multiple programs which may be either high-definition or standard definition programs. When each broadcaster sends multiple programs over its channel, the standard does not describe any preferred method by which these programs may be selected. The Digital Television Standard is a subset of the MPEG-2 standard defined by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) which is described in a publication entitled xe2x80x9cGeneric Coding of Moving Pictures and Associated Audio, Recommendation H.626xe2x80x9d, ISO/IEC 13818-2, IS, Nov. 1994 available from the International Standards Organization.
The present invention is embodied in a digital television receiver having a program selection apparatus. The program selection apparatus includes means by which a frequency corresponding to a television channel may be selected and second means by which individual programs within the television channel may be selected.